Careful Screams
by LordByronMudkippington
Summary: Two tickets to the Lily White concert? Score. Backstage passes? Even better. Embarrassing herself in front of everyone? Well that's just par for the course for Hanayo.


Hanayo was standing in the kitchen, holding two bags of rice in her hands. Both of them got careful, inquisitive stares as she looked them over. It was an important decision that would determine the fate of tonight's dinner: white rice, or Jasmine rice? A random person might question the reason for such a debate. _"What does it matter? They're both white rice."_ That's what they would say, but her, an intellectual, would tell them they were wrong. Then she would sit them down and force them to undergo a history and culinary lesson on why they were wrong.

"Hanayo-chaaaan!" Honoka's loud call made Hanayo jump, the bag of white rice falling out of her hand. Yelping, she made a grab for it which, while letting her successfully recover it, caused her to lose her grip on the Jasmine. She tried to grab for that as well, but she slipped on the linoleum and fell, the wayward bag hitting her in the stomach. Why did she wear socks in the kitchen again?

Her first glimpse of Honoka was from the floor, so her excitable friend was upside down. She was also wearing a skirt again, a fact that came into play with Hanayo's current position. Her cheeks started to turn red as she quickly looked anywhere but at her friend. "I-I see y-you're wearing lace again."

"Hah?" Honoka looked down at Hanayo's current position, then at her skirt. "Oh son of a bitch!" Her own cheeks started burning as she pressed her skirt down with her hands. "I'm never wearing a skirt around you again, Hanayo-chan!"

"I-It was an accident!" She protested, pushing herself back into a standing position and placing the two rice bags back on the counter. "A-Anyway, did you need something?"

"Huh? Oh! Yeah!" Honoka snapped her fingers, suddenly remembering what she was there for. "So, I got two tickets for the Lily White concert, and I was wondering if you wanted to go."

"R-Really? I'd love to!" Lily White was a three-piece band that Honoka had introduced her to some months ago. They played mostly a fusion of idol pop and more classical music, with Sonoda Umi as the primary vocalist and guitarist. The reason Honoka was able to get those tickets was due to her long-standing friendship with Umi, a friendship that had survived since childhood. She was the only one of the three that Hanayo had met, a woman whom she considered nice but rather strict and scary-looking sometimes.

The other two that she hadn't met were the drummer, Hoshizora Rin, and the multi-instrumentalist Toujou Nozomi. She played multiple roles in the band, including the piano, synthesizer, and saxophone. Hanayo was interested in seeing them, though. Especially Nozomi. Good lord, she was hot.

Even thinking that made her face go red, but it was true. Watching their music videos and live performances on YouTube had captivated her interest since the first video Honoka had shown her, and she found herself waiting impatiently for the moment that the camera would focus on the twin-tailed beauty. Her saxophone solos were divine. Now she had a chance to see her - err, them - live? Absolutely.

"And we get to go backstage!" Honoka was shaking with excitement. "Do you know what that means?"

"N-No. What does it means?"

"It means I get the perfect opportunity to hit on Umi-chan!" She... did not expect that. "I'm going from the friendzone to the end zone, no doubt!"

Well, if Honoka made a fool of herself in front of Umi, that would at least mean less people would be watching if she decided to make a fool of herself by trying to talk to Nozomi.

* * *

The concert was a crowded affair. Many people were there for their favorite idol fusion band. The tickets Honoka had were right at the foot of the stage, giving them a great view of what was to come. Both of them were standing and waiting for the show to start, just as everyone else there was.

Hanayo had never been to a concert before, and the sheer amount of people made her nervous. She kept close to Honoka, flinching when someone standing next to her accidentally brushed against her arm. How did all these concerts go on without someone getting trampled? Okay, bad though, bad thought.

Luckily, her thoughts were distracted by movement on the stage. A swell of cheers rose up from the crowd as Lily White walked onto the stage, waving to their many fans. Honoka let out a wild scream that Hanayo was sure left her temporarily deaf. "UMI-CHAAAN! WOOOO UMI-CHANNN!" Nobody had told her to bring earplugs. That was a critical miscalculation.

It was Nozomi who spoke to them first, ambling up to the mic and standing next to Umi. "How we all doing tonight?" The crowd roared positively in response. "Let me feel your spiritual power!" Somehow the crowd got even louder. Hanayo could practically taste the ringing in her ears.

At this point, Umi grabbed the mic. "I think they can feel it in the next county." That got a laugh from the crowd and her bandmates. "Alright, I think we can get things rolling now." Both she and Nozomi leaned into the mic, probably having rehearsed doing this plenty of times. "This is A-NO-NE-GA-N-BA-RE!"

The crowd went wild as they began to play, Umi's melodic voice washing over every inch it could reach. Glancing over at Honoka, Hanayo could see that she was entranced by the voice, her eyes wide and staring directly at Umi as she clutched her heart with a hand. It was then that Hanayo's attention went to Nozomi.

After their introduction, she had moved back towards a small, movable piano, which she was currently playing. It was hard not to notice the saxophone hanging around her neck, though. She must've been very strong to carry it like that throughout the entire concert. In the middle of the song, Umi's voice began to fade out, and all attention turned to Nozomi as her fingers left the keys and wrapped around the brass instrument around her neck. It was sax solo time.

Her playing was so much more incredible live than through a measly pair of headphones. No video could do justice what she was doing right there on stage. Hanayo found herself as transfixed as Honoka had been, unable to take her eyes off of the goddess who had decided it was time to descend unto mere mortals and blow them away with her chosen muse. She tried not to admit in her mind that saxophone solos had just jumped to the top of her kink list.

That beginning may have been the highlight, but there were plenty of other great moments that made the concert highly enjoyable. She didn't even care that she might never get the ringing out of her brain: watching Nozomi strut her stuff on stage made it all worth it. In fact, she was highly disappointed when the concert ended. How could she go on without 24/7 Nozomi sax solos?

With that in mind, she didn't understand why Honoka had grabbed her hand and was tugging her around the stage rather than towards the exists. "Honoka-chan?"

"Did you forget? We've got backstage passes!" She flashed the tickets for Hanayo to see, then quickly tucked them away and kept dragging Hanayo along. It wasn't that much of a drag, though: knowing that she'd get to go backstage and actually see Nozomi at a closer distance made her feet move it double time. Then again, she most definitely would make a fool of herself... Her left foot tried to drag against the ground to stop them while her right foot practically ran to their destination. It was an awkward journey.

When they reached their destination, they were each given a lanyard that let people know they were allowed to be there. When Honoka looked down at hers, she frowned. "Aw man..."

"What? What is it?" Hanayo tried to look at the pass curiously.

"Mine says 'Breadfucker' again." She scoffed and let the lanyard fall back against her chest. "I like more things than bread, okay?" Suppressing a giggle, Hanayo decided to check if hers said anything.

"Mine just says 'Other Honoka'. What does that mean?"

"It was probably Rin-chan's doing, since I doubt she knows your actual name. Or it might've been Nozomi-chan." Oh. Well, if it was Nozomi, that was okay. She'd be 'Other Honoka' if Nozomi wanted her to.

The first person to greet them was Umi. She had an amicable smile on her face as she gave Honoka a hug, then turned to greet Hanayo. "I'm glad you both could make it. Did you enjoy the show, Hanayo?"

"Y-Yes, very much so! Y-You have an amazing voice." The compliment seemed to embarrass Umi, who immediately started to blush and turned away, scratching her cheek.

"W-Well, thank you! That's... That's very kind of you." She coughed in clear embarrassment, gesturing further down the stage. "Why don't we go talk to Nozomi and Rin?" Honoka and Hanayo nodded and followed after Umi into the back of the stage, where the members and their instruments were hidden by a large, closed curtain.

Rin could be seen still sitting behind the drums and talking to Nozomi, who was standing in front of the kit. As they got closer, Hanayo could see the natural, warm smile on Nozomi's face, and she found it hard to breathe. Was it possible to have such a pure smile as a mere mortal? She most definitely had to be divine.

"Nozomi, Rin!" Umi called, waving at them. "Honoka and Hanayo are here!"

"Ohh, so that's Other Honoka!" Rin clapped and dropped her drumsticks on the snare, ignoring the clang of wood meeting metal, then wood meeting floor as she hopped up and went to shake Hanayo's hand rather aggressively. "I'm Rin! I was the drummer, nya!"

"Haha, I think she knows that, Rin-chan." Nozomi laid a hand on Rin's shoulder and gave it a squeeze, which succeeded in stopping her from wringing Hanayo's arm off. Her attention then turned to Hanayo. "I apologize for my bandmate here. She gets a little bit... overeager."

"I-It's okay," Hanayo replied softly, finding her voice vanishing now that Nozomi was looking at her. Gods, she was beautiful. Way too beautiful. It wasn't fair. She couldn't even speak or move due to this.

"I'm sure you know by now that I'm Nozomi." Her smile warmed Hanayo's heart and short-circuited her brain at the same time. She had to fight through it to respond.

"Y-Yes, I-I do." Okay, that was something, but not very helpful. What was she supposed to say next? She could talk about how much she loved the band's music, which was fine, but might seem a bit too desperate. Perhaps she could mention how amazing Nozomi was on the sax, but that seemed too pandering, and she wasn't sure she could say it without going completely red in the face. Saying she wished she could see her in a bikini was definitely off-limits too. Oh Gods, why was she thinking that? What in the world were the words that were going to come out of her mouth?

"I-It's rice to meet you." That wasn't too bad. It- Wait... Why was everyone staring at her? For a moment, she glanced between the members of Lily White and Honoka, who were all looking at her with wide eyes. Then the dam broke, and both Rin and Honoka fell to the ground laughing so hard she was worried they might choke or pass out.

"Wh-What did I do?" Hanayo squeaked out nervously, looking wildly between Nozomi and Umi, who both looked as if they were trying not to laugh.

"Y-You really do like rice, don'tcha Hanayo-chan? Ahahaha!" Honoka could barely get the words out before she was doubled up in laughter again. At first, Hanayo wasn't sure what she was talking about. Rice? What did rice have to do with anything? Then she thought back on what she'd just said. 'Nice to meet you.' 'Nice...' 'Rice?' 'Rice to meet you?!'

"Oh no..." She groaned and hid her face in embarrassment, even more aware of the laughter than before. A hand placed on her shoulder made her peek through her fingers to find Nozomi looking at her with a good-natured grin. The mortification continued.

"You okay, hon?" Coming from her, it sounded genuine.

"D-Did I really say...?"

"Yeah. It was cute, don't worry." Cute? Was she blushing? Her face felt hot. She probably was blushing. "Why don't we get away from the chuckleheads for a few minutes?" Hanayo had already nodded and began following Nozomi before she realized that would leave the two of them alone. Oh dear.

It was too late to change course, as they were already past Rin's drum kit and a good distance from the rest of the group. She wasn't sure that she wanted to speak another word, lest she say something else dumb. Luckily Nozomi seemed to pick up on this and decided to start things herself.

"So, this was your first time at one of our concerts?"

"Y-Yes, but I've been listening to your music for awhile. You're all so talented, and I love your music! The saxophone solos are so inspired, and fit perfectly with Sonoda-san's voice."

"Oh?" Nozomi's grin broadened as she leaned down and picked up her saxophone. "Would you like to hear something I haven't played for anybody yet?"

"R-Really?" Hanayo was stunned. Nozomi had a new song that she hadn't played for anyone, and _she_ would be the first to hear it? What had she done to be given such an honor? "Y-Yes!"

Smiling, Nozomi held her trumpet, set her fingers in place, then placed her lips to the mouthpiece and began to play. The smooth, jazzy sounds reached Hanayo's ears, enveloping her in a beautiful, awe-inspiring sound. It took a little bit more playing, but that beautiful sound also became a familiar melody.

When Nozomi finished playing, Hanayo decided to bring up the similarities, shy about questioning someone whom she had just met but was a lot more awesome than she. "W-Was... Was that Careless Whisper?"

"Indeed it was." Nozomi laughed and set her sax back down, taking Hanayo's hand in her own and pulling her close. "Now let me lead you to the dance floor, Panachi."

"Y-You have a dance floor?" Hanayo was burning with embarrassment and the internal fangirling of having Nozomi holding her hand and desiring to dance with her.

"We make do with what we have." Shrugging, Nozomi began to lead Hanayo in a slow, simple back and forth kind of dance. Transfixed by all of the beautiful woman standing in front of her, Hanayo could barely remember to breathe, let alone speak. She just let Nozomi lead her in their impromptu dance, trying not to look like a total loser. Mission probably failed.

"You follow my lead pretty well. Have you ever danced before?" Huh... Hanayo thought back to the last time she had danced. She had agreed to be Honoka's dance partner in her friend's various attempts to learn skills that would make her 'more desirable to chicks'. When Honoka had tried to spin her around, Hanayo fell over the coffee table and bruised her shin. The vase that was on the table hadn't been so lucky.

"Uh... Not much," she admitted, blushing further at the giggle that bubbled from Nozomi's perfect lips. They kept dancing in a simple pattern for a few minutes, with Nozomi asking normal questions about Hanayo's life. Surprisingly, not once were they interrupted.

"Okay, so I've got one more question."

"What is it?"

"Can I kiss you?" Woah. She was not expecting that. Though she wanted to say that the question caused her to blush, she wasn't sure that she had ever stopped blushing. This probably wouldn't even be noticeable considering how easily she had been blushing already.

"K-Kiss? Me? Y-You want to k-kiss me?"

"Well, yeah. You know, your lips, my lips, getting acquainted." Out of all the people in the world who Hanayo would've ever suspected wanted to kiss her, she figured it would be the owner of the store she bought all her rice from. Yet here she was, being propositioned for a kiss by her secret crush: someone who was _actually_ cool.

"I-I, uh, I..." She stammered horribly, trying desperately to get something cohesive out. "I-I would let you step on me if you wanted." Oh jeez, anything except for that. Nozomi had to stifle yet another giggle, which at least meant that Hanayo was funny... just not in a purposeful way.

"Unfortunately, I left my heels at home, but I'll remember them next time." She took the opportunity to lean in and press her lips against Hanayo's, who was still stunned from trying to take in all of what was happening. Luckily, she was able to realize that yes, this was actually happening, and kissed Nozomi back before things got too awkward.

A soft, gentle kiss became more eager and demanding before too long, and Hanayo was more than happy to give in to the desires of her crush. She wrapped her arms around Nozomi and clung on for dear life, at least until a foreign sound reached her ears. It sounded like... clapping?

They broke off their kiss to find they were no longer being given privacy. Honoka and Rin were alternating between clapping and whistling, while Umi was trying her best to look anywhere but at them, her face a dark shade of red. That, however, was nothing compared to how red Hanayo's face became with the realization that they were being watched.

"Woo Nozomi-chaaan!" Rin cheered, clapping loud enough to deafen anyone near her. Poor Honoka and Umi. "One more for the camera?" Were they taking pictures?!

Nozomi put a hand on her hip, seeming unperturbed by what was going on. "Rin-chan, if you're taking pictures of us, you'd better send them to me right away." What?!

"Aye aye!" Rin mock saluted, immediately reaching for her phone, but was thankfully stopped by Umi, who seemed done with what was going on.

"I think it's about time we leave. Now," she added, punctuating it with finality upon getting a pout from Rin. "Thank you for coming to see us." She bowed to Hanayo, then shared another hug with Honoka, seeming to whisper something to her that no one else could catch. It definitely made Honoka light up, though.

"Hey, Panachi." Before leaving, she was stopped by Nozomi. "Any chance I could get your number?"

"Y-You want m-my number?" Even after they had just finished kissing, Hanayo couldn't believe that it was good enough for further contact. "O-Of course! O-Oh, but I don't have anything to write with."

"Here." Reaching into her shirt, Nozomi pulled out a black sharpie, and once Hanayo took it, she undid the first few buttons on her top.

"N-Nozomi-san?!"

"Just write it here," Nozomi grinned, showing off quite a bit of chest, with plenty of room to write her number on. Gulping, Hanayo nodded shakily and uncapped the sharpie. Pressing the fine tip against Nozomi's fine skin made for a distracting experience. She wasn't convinced she wouldn't pass out before finishing, but somehow she was able to persevere. Human spirit and all that.

"I'll be sure to call!" Nozomi gave Hanayo a final kiss and a wink before she was off, hurrying to catch the tour bus before Umi drove off without her. Hanayo just stood there dazed before remembering that there was also a ride waiting her. Hopefully Honoka wouldn't drive off without her either.

When she reached the car and got inside, she was still in a sort of daze, which did not go unnoticed. "Sooo, how'd it go with you and Nozomi-chan?"

"I-It went... well, I... I'm pretty sure." A kiss and the giving of her phone number? Yeah, that sounded like it went pretty well. That suddenly reminded her of something, though. "O-Oh, hey, Honoka-chan? How did it go with Umi-san?"

"She slapped me."

"Oh, I-I'm sorry to hear that."

"Nah, don't be. We're going out next Thursday." Well huh... That didn't _sound_ like a successful encounter, but when it came to Honoka, anything was possible. As they drove back home under the cover of night, all of Hanayo's thoughts were about Nozomi. When they got home, she was locking herself in her room and listening to some sax solos.


End file.
